


Maternity

by pipistrelle



Category: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Genre: Alien Biology, Cuddling & Snuggling, F/F, Family Relationships - Freeform, Fluff, Kiradax Month 2016, Pregnancy, Season/Series 05, Trills
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-08
Updated: 2016-05-08
Packaged: 2018-06-02 18:22:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,576
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6577462
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pipistrelle/pseuds/pipistrelle
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Nerys needs a break from all the irritating symptoms of her pregnancy. Jadzia is here to help. Some fluff and snuggling set during early season 5.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Maternity

**Author's Note:**

> I have given a lot of thought (probably too much thought) to the biology of Trills and Bajorans and what we know about them and what that might indicate about their evolutionary pasts on their separate worlds. But mostly I think about Kira and Dax cuddling, so here is some of that. Thanks to AceofWands and dobbyofbajor for beta-ing!
> 
> This was originally supposed to be for the Kiradax month prompt "domestic fluff", except I didn't finish it in time.

 Some days working on Deep Space Nine was everything Dax had ever dreamed of, a life of challenge and wonder filled with first contacts and intricate, fascinating wormhole phenomena. Sometimes the whole station was a reminder that the universe was never stagnant, that even after three hundred years of living there was still so much life, teeming in its infinite variety everywhere you looked, irrepressible, inexhaustible.

And then, of course, there were the days like this one, when the wormhole started throwing off random EM bursts that scrambled vital communications and caused unpredictable short-circuits in lighting fixtures and replicators over half the station. The bursts also scrambled the equipment Dax needed to analyze their source. Attempting to radiation-proof every radiation-detecting circuit in her instruments took so long that the disruptions had stopped on their own by the time she'd finished.

She wasn't the only one who'd had a long day, either. By the time Jadzia made it out of the lab and back to Ops, Nerys had given up her place at the console and was sitting on the step that led up to the Captain's office. She leaned back on her splayed hands, trying to ease the pressure of supporting her expanding belly, giving orders from the ground like a wounded general directing her troops from a field cot. A month and a half into her pregnancy, and she had started to find the uncushioned metal Cardassian-designed console chairs too confining. Jadzia's back ached just looking at her.

Alpha shift was nearly over. Half of the Ops crew had already been relieved, and the other half were starting to fidget, glancing impatiently at the time readouts on their consoles. Benjamin was still in his office, waiting patiently for two Bajorans in dress uniform to finish a shouting match; he caught Jadzia's eye as she passed opposite the office door and gestured at the turbolift, saying _go on, get out of here, don't worry about me._ She snapped him a mocking salute, grinning as he lifted a hand to his mouth to hide a smile.

Behind her, Nerys sneezed. It was a sound the entire Ops crew had become accustomed to in the last month, and Jadzia hardly noticed it. Then it came again, and again, and again. Jadzia turned to watch her as the fit went on, one after another, with such force that it looked like she might topple over. By the time she stopped, Jadzia couldn't help wincing in sympathy at her ragged gasps for breath. Even her sneezing sounded exhausted.

Jadzia sat down on the step next to Nerys, close enough that their legs pressed together from hip to knee. "Today was one of your visits with Julian, wasn't it?" she asked softly.

Nerys nodded, grimacing. The weekly injections helped keep the human child she carried from reacting negatively to her Bajoran biology, and they also exacerbated all the worst symptoms of her pregnancy; the aches and pains, the irritability, and of course the sneezing. "I think your shift ended ten minutes ago," Jadzia murmured. "Why don't you go home and lay down? There's nothing left to do that Benjamin can't handle on his own."

"Maybe I don't want to go home," Nerys snapped.

Jadzia raised an eyebrow at her.

She sighed and rubbed her temples. "I'm sorry. I just -- I feel terrible, and I'm not really in the mood for Miles and Keiko right now."

"I see." Jadzia nodded knowingly, fighting a smile. "Problems with Miles?"

"He's just --" Nerys drew breath to complain and let out it in a sigh. "Oh, why bother telling you? The whole station knows we've been fighting like hara-cats. If it's not Miles being completely unreasonable, it's Keiko trying to get us to talk about our problems, and I don't know which is worse! And even when no one's fighting, they won't leave me alone. I haven't been able to meditate in peace for a week because they keep bringing me things. They _hover_."

"I'll bet they do." Jadzia stood and held out her hands to help Nerys up. "Come on, come with me. I know just the thing to help."

Nerys eyed her mistrustfully, but eventually let herself be hauled upright, biting back a groan as her sore feet took her weight again. "If you say _anything_ about a holosuite --"

"I wouldn't dream of it," Jadzia assured her. She tapped her combadge. "Dax to O'Brien."

"O'Brien here."

"Chief, would you tell Keiko that Kira won't be making it for dinner tonight? I need her help on a project."

"You're keeping her working past her shift?" O'Brien demanded. "What, is she supposed to not have dinner at all?"

"Don't worry, it's nothing too taxing. I'll take good care of her, I promise. We'll be working in my quarters if you need us."

Even over the tinny comm connection they could hear the sulk in Miles' voice. "Acknowledged. O'Brien out."

Nerys didn't look reassured. "You're not going to hear the end of that anytime soon."

"I can handle it," Jadzia said, grinning. She slipped Nerys' arm into hers and tugged. Nerys looked ready to argue, but another sneeze took the fight out of her and she allowed herself to be led into the turbolift. Once they were out of sight of the Ops floor, Jadzia let her hand drift to the small of Nerys' back, gently massaging the muscles she could feel knotted up even through the thick uniform fabric. Nerys gasped in pain, then groaned in relief, letting her head fall to Jadzia's shoulder as she leaned into the touch.

"You can take some leave, you know," Jadzia said to the top of her head. "No one expects you to run yourself ragged in Ops while you're carrying a baby. Being pregnant is hard work."

"Tell me about it." The turbolift ground to a halt and Nerys raised her head with a deep sigh, letting herself be pulled along the corridors of the Habitat Ring until they reached Jadzia's quarters. "All right," she said as Jadzia ushered her inside, "what's this miracle cure of yours?"

Jadzia held out a hand. "Give me your combadge."

"What?"

"Your combadge." Jadzia plucked it off Nerys' uniform and gestured to the bed, half-hidden behind a staggered set of shelves covered in bits of holo-crystal and colored glass ornaments. "Now go take a nap. I'll wake you if anything important comes up -- but _only_ if it's important. No routine station business, no consulting with Odo on smuggling cases. I know smuggling's a threat to the Bajoran economy," she said, forestalling Nerys' protest, "but it can wait for an hour or two."

"You're worse than Keiko," Nerys grumbled.

"That's where you're wrong. I'll run interference for you, but I won't hover. I won't bring you a single thing unless you ask me to."

Nerys looked up at her, eyes narrowing. "Promise?"

"Cross my heart." Jadzia placed a hand on her chest, as befitted a solemn oath. "If you want anything, you know where the replicator is."

Nerys smiled at last, and that was worth all the EM bursts and the mechanical failures, all the frustration and disappointment that space or the station could bring. Maybe, Jadzia thought wryly, the best days on the station didn't need an intricate new discovery or first contact; maybe they only needed that smile.

Jadzia waited until she was sure Nerys had fallen asleep, then settled herself on the couch with a stack of PADDs. She had finished proofreading Julian's latest treatise on viral replication and was halfway through an Andorian novel she'd borrowed from Jake when the faint squeak of a muffled sneeze signalled Nerys' return to wakefulness.

Jadzia stayed where she was, keeping her eyes on the PADD. She couldn't blame Nerys for feeling hovered over; between Miles and Benjamin (and, to be completely honest, Jadzia too) always keeping one eye on her whenever they were on duty, and living in the O'Briens' quarters, it was understandable that she felt a little crowded. Nerys loved Miles and Keiko and Molly, but to have lived alone for so long and then in the space of a day to suddenly find herself pregnant and at the heart of a family -- it would take some getting used to.

Just when Jadzia was beginning to wonder if Nerys had woken up after all, she heard the blankets rustling and Nerys calling her name in a voice husky with sleep. She set her PADD aside and turned around. Nerys was sitting up in bed, one hand resting on her stomach. Her hair was mussed adorably, her nose pink from rubbing it against the blankets to try and quell the constant itch. She had taken off her uniform jacket and draped the sheet around her bare shoulders. Even sleep-rumpled and bleary-eyed, she looked radiant.

Jadzia rested her arms on the back of the couch, admiring the view. "Want me to bring you something?"

"Just you," Nerys answered, covering a yawn.

That was all Jadzia wanted to hear. She crossed the room and sat at the foot of the bed, still trying to give Nerys her space, resisting every nerve in her body that sang with the desire to get closer, to touch. "Did you sleep well?"

"Better than I have in a while," Nerys admitted. Her face scrunched up and she started sneezing again.

Jadzia waited until she had finished and slid closer on the bed, letting Nerys lean against her as she panted for breath. "It's not always this bad, is it?"

Nerys turned her face into Jadzia's shoulder, shivering a little. "It's worst when I wake up. Keiko says that's how it works for human women, too."

Jadzia trailed one hand down Nerys' spine, feeling the rise and fall of her breathing slow to normal again. "And Julian can't help?"

"The treatment he gave me wears off after a while, but he said he's afraid to try anything stronger in case the side effects end up hurting the baby. My hormones are enough of a mess as it is, trying to balance the human and the Bajoran. He doesn't want to take any risks."

"Well, I think I might have an idea," said Jadzia. "If you wouldn't rather be left alone, that is."

Nerys snorted. "You're full of ideas today, aren't you?"

"Ideas and memories. I remember what it's like to be pregnant -- I've done it five times."

"I think I'll stop with this one."

Jadzia laughed. "You know, I said that too, every single time." She unzipped her own uniform shirt and tossed it over a chair, then pulled the sheet out of the way so she could press a kiss to Nerys' bare shoulder.

"Not now, Jadzia, I am _tired_ ," Nerys growled.

"I know. Go on, lay back down." Nerys obeyed and Jadzia lay down with her, squeezing in between Nerys and the wall, so her chest pressed against Nerys' back their legs tangled together. She slipped one arm over Nerys' midriff and sighed in deep contentment. Nerys shivered as Jadzia's breath tickled the sensitive ridges at the nape of her neck. With her other hand Jadzia began to slowly rub Nerys' lower back again, feeling her own back begin to ache in sympathy (and Lela's, and Emony's, and Audrid's).

Nerys made a soft contented sound, and Jadzia thought she was drifting off, but instead she shifted a little closer and asked, "What are Trill pregnancies like?"

"Long," Jadzia said feelingly. "A little longer than ten months."

This time the sound Nerys made was one of disgust and horror. Jadzia laughed. "It could be worse. At least there's no sneezing," she teased. "We get a little nauseous, but not as bad as humans -- I remember when Jennifer was pregnant with Jake, Benjamin nearly went out of his mind. He'd cook everything he could think of for her, and she could hardly eat any of it."

"Poor Jennifer," Nerys murmured.

"For me, the worst thing was the chills," Jadzia went on. "For _ten months_ I couldn't get warm, not even for a minute! When Lela was pregnant with Ahjess, she decided the problem was that the heating system wasn't warm enough, and actually went outside looking for sticks and twigs so she could start a _real_ fire. If her wife hadn't come home before she got it lit, she probably would have burned the house down!"

 Nerys giggled. "I… remember that," she said. "A little bit, I think. From the zhian'tara."

 "That was Lela's second child. She swore she wouldn't have any more after Ahjess, but her memories didn't stop Audrid from having a little girl as soon as she could."

 "Do you keep in touch with them? Your children?" Nerys asked softly, sounding half asleep. Then she seemed to come awake a bit and realize what she'd said. "Oh, Jadzia, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to --"

 "It's all right," Jadzia said gently. "It's… complicated. Not exactly forbidden, but not exactly encouraged, either. After the children are thirty or so, the danger of reawakening past lives is… less of a concern. I'm allowed to get letters, sometimes. Emony's son Tiron is a famous dancer on Trill, I see stories about him on the news nets every once in a while. He won the highest honor at the Marravian Dance Festival last year."

 "You must be proud," Nerys said softly.

 "Emony would be. She always thought he was the best dancer in the quadrant. Of course, she might have been a little biased."

 Nerys sighed. "It's strange. This isn't even my baby, but I can't help wondering who he'll be someday. What he'll do. I know he won't be anything like me, he won't even be the same _species_ as me, but…" she hesitated, searching for words.

 "He'll always be a part of you," Jadzia supplied. "Miles and Keiko, too. It's all worth it, you know. All the nausea and the chills and --" Nerys shuddered in her arms, muffling a squeak into the pillow. "And the sneezing," Jadzia finished, grinning.

 "It'd better be," Nerys grumbled. She yawned and sat up. "I should get back. Miles will be worrying."

 "Men are awful worrywarts," Jadzia said solemnly. "They might be the worst thing about being pregnant. If he starts to annoy you, let me or Keiko take him off your hands for a while."

 Nerys turned to face her, smiling, radiant. "Thank you, Jadzia. For everything."

 "Anything for you," Jadzia said. Instead of answering Nerys cupped a hand around the back of Jadzia's neck and pulled her head down, pressing their noses together in that unique Bajoran gesture of trust and intimacy. Jadzia scrunched her nose up to match Nerys', and they broke apart laughing, and then Nerys' laughter turned to sniffling and there were tears in her eyes. She stood up hastily, wiping at her eyes with the back of her hand. "Oh, by the Prophets --"

 Jadzia stood and pulled her into a brief hug, then let her go with a kiss to her forehead. "It's okay. Go home and relax, and come back whenever you want."

 Nerys kissed her again softly in thanks, then gathered up her uniform and combadge, ran a hand through her hair and vanished out the door.

Jadzia stood looking after her for a while, lost in memory, then smiled and turned to her console. There must be some news out there about how Dax's children were doing, she thought. It wouldn't hurt to look.


End file.
